CPR: If taxpayers focus on the results of the recent election, there may not seem to be much to celebrate. While the rest of America took a big step toward fiscal sanity, the same cannot be said of California. At the state level, all three taxes, one on marijuana users, one on smokers and another on higher income taxpayers, passed. Fueled by massive special interest campaign spending, tax hike proponents convinced voters that they were simply raising taxes on “other people” which made them more palatable.
The bright spot among the 17 statewide measures was the approval of Proposition 54, which will provide much needed transparency over the California Legislature. For years taxpayers have wanted legislative bills to be available for public review prior to being voted on. Prop. 54 makes that happen.
At the local level, it looks like 80 percent of the local taxes and bonds were approved. The good news is that, largely due to the requirements of Jarvis initiatives Proposition 13 and Proposition 218, the Right to Vote on Taxes Act, these measures were decided by voters rather than being imposed by out of touch public officials. read more
Texas needs to open a season on California Rats.
Prop 54 won’t matter, most Californians can’t read.
Yes, it’s much better to have taxes imposed by out of touch voters. Out of touch with reality, that is.
The problem with raising taxes on anything, even the so-called sin taxs on cigarettes and pot, is that legislators get addicted to the money. If these taxes have their desired effect, which is to punish cigarette smokers, pot users and high income people, one of the effects is that eventually revenue will drop as people either use less, resort to the black market, or in the case of high income people, move.
But legislators get used to these revenue streams, so they have to either replace the tax revenue with something else or raise these taxes again. It’s a cycle few people appreciate, and eventually the middle class will take it in the shorts again.
As an ex-commiefornian, I can say that the state is trying very hard to NOT declare bankruptcy. They have spent tax $ on frivolous garbage and retarded social programs to the point of having it all implode. they are going to start taxing everything they can in order to keep shit running, but it won’t work. With idiots like Gov ‘moonbeam’ Brown and Nasty Pelosi running things, all the new tax revenue will be pissed away on more appeasement policies for entitled minorities, and lining their pockets.
Well, they deserve it. The Liberals in the cities keep voting these clowns into office and passing their foolish policies and laws, while looking down on the rest of the nation as being backwards and behind the curve on how to do things. They made their bed, then they shit in it, now they can sleep in it. CA gets no sympathy from me.
I’ve often said that while politicians always say that the higher tax on smokers is for their own good and will encourage them to quit (and others not to start) if the entire population of smokers quit overnight the politicians and unelected government officials preparing budgets will have a collective stroke. Whenever they tell you all this tax money is going to pay for the extra expense smokers cause (health, lost work days and the like) they are flat out lying to you. It’s a huge amount of cash only a portion of which goes to health costs. The sad truth is that a smoker lives fewer years and takes up fewer health dollars (because when they get sick they usually go out relatively quickly) then a healthy non smoker who lives to a ripe old age. In addition a smoker collects other government benefits (like social security) for a shorter period of time then a non smoker. Most of the money collected goes either into general revenue.
As one who lives behind enemy lines this place is way more screwed up than you could ever imagine. And it’s all going to be the Republican’s fault somehow.
I live behind enemy lines too, but not in fully occupied territory. They banned plastic bags at stores too. The stores charge you a dime per paper bag if you don’t bring your own “FAG bag”. Guess where that dime per bag goes? General fund.
I don’t see how Republicans can be blamed for anything in this state considering the Democrats now have a Super Majority.
Illegals out vote California residents. This is why Liberals want them in the country. in case no one has noticed, the border states are the hardest hit by this invasion. I hope that wall is built quickly and higher that anyone expects. I would also like to see a massive influx of conservatives move to the state to to help vote all these lefties out of office.
I guess California grew tired of waiting for an earthquake to slide them into the abyss, and called on its residents and its politicians to get the task completed sooner rather than later.